We are appalledby the concerted effort, led by Israeli officials, Zionist organizations andapologists, to derail the Durban Review Conference. We condemn the use of the memoryof the Nazi genocide, as Jewish organizations did during the Durban Reviewweek, in the defense of Israel'ssystematic domination and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. We areshocked by the cynical pretense of defending human rights, for example in Darfurand Rwanda, by organizations and groups that are only interested in silencing Palestiniandemands for accountability and redress and have no serious commitment to humanrights. The brazen exploitation of genocides and racialized violence inAfrica for the purpose of protecting and extending colonial domination in Palestine is itself aninstance of colonial racism. It is only tolerated due to the strength of racisminside the institutions of global governance.
Racismis one of the legacies of colonialism and a fundamental injustice in societiesall over the world. The World Conference Against Racism in Durban 2001 took abelated small step toward recognizing the impact of colonialism and racism on Africa and initiating a global discussion about the crimeof slavery and the need for restitution; it also addressed manyother instances of racism that must be addressed. It is beyond obvious to us thata conference about racism, and especially a conference that seeks to addressthe legacy of colonial oppression, must discuss Israel,since Israelis a settler-colonial state that systematically oppresses and deniesbasic human rights to millions of Palestinians. Israel's attempt to derail thisimportant conference in order to avoid being examined and called to account isan affront against all the victims of racism all over the world, including the sixmillion Jews who perished in the Nazi genocide.
We recall thatthe crimes of the Nazis, among them those committed against Jews, have been amajor catalyst and rationale for the establishment of humanitarian and humanright laws and instruments after World War II. These laws and instruments,however flawed and limited, are of profound importance to innumerable victimsof violence. These laws, the people they seek to protect, and the work ofcountless activists in movements for justice and dedicated professionals in thefield, are being trivialized and demeaned by a network of primarilyJewish Zionist organizations that deploy massive financial resources as theyseek to defend the indefensible-the systematic oppression of Palestinians bythe state of Israel.
We callon these organizations to stop. We call on all those committed topreserving and deepening the mechanisms of protection and redress embodied byhumanitarian and human rights law to rise up to their defense and to refuse tocooperate in their destruction. We call on those genuinely committed to thesevalues to support those in Sudancommitted to justice and an end to violence, and to condemn the exploitation ofthese efforts by Zionist organizations. We commendthe many governments, mostly of the South, who have not allowed theconference to unravel, and also the many dedicated human rights workers whokept the process going and steered it, against the saboteurs, towards reaching imperfectbut important resolutions that will continue to propel forward the struggleagainst racism. We condemn the governments of UnitedStates, Australia,New Zealand, Germany, Canada,the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland for not attending the DurbanReview conference and for using overblown accusations of antisemitism as a wayto avoid confronting their own unresolved issues of racism and reparations for slaveryand colonialism.
We demand animmediate end to the threats of military attack on Iran by the U.S.and Israel.
We demand thatall governments, U.N. agencies and bodies recognize the continuing history ofracism and colonialism that is the root of many of the world's currentconflicts, including in Palestine, and commit to accountability and redress.
We affirm our solidarityand support for Palestinian resistance and liberation struggle and allother struggles against oppression, domination and exploitation.
InternationalJewish Anti-zionist Network April 24, 2009
